Rise of the Fourth Reich Part 3
by Lichblade
Summary: I would have had this published a couple months ago, but some things came up that prevented me from doing so. In any case, this is the climatic showdown between the noble Soul Society, and the dreaded Nazi Reich. Who will come out on top?


**Chapter 21**

Orihime & Rangiku were lying quietly on the cots in their cell. Although they had only been in there for a few days, there was a feeling of hopelessness that could have been created over the course of a couple of years. As they laid in there cots, they were barely moving, save for their chests going up & down as they breathed. Rangiku let out a long sigh, followed by a small turn in her cot. When she finished turning, she was facing Orihime, who was strangely pressing her right breast, and giving it a small squeeze. Curious, Rangiku sat up and began to strike a conversation with her friend.

"Orihime, what are you doing?" asked Rangiku.

Orihime stopped what she was doing, and sat up like her friend. "Giving myself a breast exam."

"Why are you doing that?" Rangiku asked.

"Well" said Orihime "that's something a little personal."

Rangiku got up from her cot, and proceeded to grab a small wooden stool in the corner. She went right up to Orihime, and sat down in front of her. "Come on." she said. "You & me are friends. You can tell me anything. I promise that I won't tell anyone, or laugh. Now, tell me your little secret."

Shrugging her shoulders, Orihime quietly spoke. "Well" she said shyly "it actually involves you."

"It does?" Rangiku asked in a shocked voice.

"Yes it does!" Orihime shouted. "I'm jealous because of your breasts!"

Stunned by the statement, Rangiku did not have a word to say. She was so shocked by her friend's comment that she could not speak. She was able to blurt a single word..."Why?"

Sensing that she had somehow hurt her friend, Orihime attempted to fix the situation. "I'm sorry." she said. "I'm getting cramped up & angry, all because I'm trapped in this cell. I hope that you can forgive me."

Rangiku place a hand on her friend's shoulder, then gave her a massive hug. "It's alright." she said. "I'm getting a little cooped in here too. I just try to not let it get to me. I'll help you out with that, if you like. "

Orihime, with tears in her eyes, gave a great big smile. "I would! I'd like that very much!"

Sitting back on stool, Rangiku was smiling. She was happy that her friend was now in better spirits. There was one thing still weighing on her mind. "Orihime?" Rangiku asked.

"Yeah?" Orihime asked back.

"Were you serious about the whole breast thing?" asked Rangiku.

Silent for a moment or two, Orihime spoke. "Yeah, I was." she said.

"Why?" Rangiku asked.

Orihime glanced down at her chest, then looked back at her friend. "Cause I always get the feeling that whenever I talk to people, they always seem to stare at my breasts." she said. "I'd like to been taken seriously, and liked for not just my body, but for my mind as well. How do you do it, Rangiku?"

"What do you mean?" asked Rangiku.

"I mean" said Orihime "how do you go through your day, have people take you seriously, and not get annoyed with people who stare at your chest?"

Rangiku was silent for a moment, then burst out into laughter shortly after. Orihime's face because flustered, and a pouty expression appeared on her face. After seeing her friend's face, Rangiku stopped laughing.

"That's actually an interesting story." said Rangiku. She grabbed Orihime's left hand, and placed it on her right breast. Orihime's face was red from shock & embarassment. She tried to speak, but Rangiku put her pointer finger on her friend's lips.

"Sssssh." said Rangiku, then removed her finger. "You don't need to speak. I can understand what you're going through. I go through it everyday, but I have a secret about it. You want to know what it is?"

Orihime nodded her head in excitement. "Yes, I want to know what your secret!"

"Alright" said Rangiku "I'll tell you what my secret is...I don't let it get to me."

"What?" asked Orihime. "That's it?"

"Yeah." said Rangiku. "Listen, Orihime, I deal with it also. Men, and even some women, stare at my chest, when they should be looking at my face instead. After I realized that people would prefer to stare at my breasts, I decided something."

"What was that?" asked.

"I decided that anyone who would prefer to just look at my chest isn't worth the time of day." said Rangiku. "They are simply too basic-minded for there own good. I just ignore them, and I go about my business."

Orihime began to ponder the words spoken by her friend. As she was thinking, she realized that her hand was still gripped by Rangiku, and it was still on her friend's right breast. She felt the warmth of her friend's body, and the beating of her friend's heart. When she felt all of this, she finally said something.

"You know what" said Orihime "you're right! I don't have to deal with any jerk that just stares at my chest. I'll just brush them off, and ignore them if they find me again. Thank you for your words."

"You are welcome, Orihime." said Rangiku, who gave a smile that could outshine the sun.

"There's just one thing that still bothers me." Orihime said.

"What's that?" Rangiku asked.

"Why did you grab my hand and placed it on your breast?" asked Orihime.

Looking down at her chest as if she just came out of trance, Rangiku just realized what Orihime was talking about, and was startled. "Oh my goodness!" Rangiku said loudly in a flustered voice. "I'm sorry, but I just have these impulses, and I can...."

Before she could finish talking, a turn at the cell door startled the both of them. A man in uniform stepped in, and began to speak. "Hello, I was just..." before he could finish, a loud squeal from Orihime came out of here mouth, which prompted Rangiku to throw a pillow at the man. The pillow landed straight in his face. He forcefully threw it down to the ground, and shouted "Gottanhimmel*, what was that for!?"

After he shouted, Orihime realized who it was. It was the guard that was speaking with Ichigo a couple of days ago. Once the guard regained his composure, Orihime quickly got up from her cot, and took a bow of apology. "My friend & I are so sorry. We were in the middle of a tender moment, and I thought you were a peeping tom."

The guard dusted off his pants. "It's alright." he said. "I get that sometimes. In any case, I have some news for you."

"What is it?" asked Rangiku. After she asked, she let go of Orihime's hand, and took it off her chest.

"The leaders of the Fourth Reich are accelerating their plans." said the guard "They have begun to setup the primal generator."

"Primal Generator?" Orihime asked.

"When the Nazis first invaded the soul society, they brought with them a massive generator. It was designed to harvest black sun energy by using the raeshi as a faucet, which could allow them to drain the veil, and store it for use. There was one side effect to all of this."

"What was that?" asked Orihime.

"It did it's job too well." said the guard. "The generator was harvesting black sun energy at a rate that even they did not expect. In an effort to slow their work, they turned down the generator's power but it was too late. Their work had already attracted the attention of the soul society, but there also was another problem."

"And that was?" asked Rangiku.

"The generator had formed a rift between the soul society and the veil." spoke the guard. "This rift had brought in the Geist, living entities that lived in the veil. They began to attack any living thing that they were near, and harvested their energy to procreate more of their own kind. At first, the soul society was unable to defend itself against the geists, but as they continued to fight, they slowly adapted to their spectral foe. They even managed to experiment on a few captured geists and use their own power against them. Once that was done, they turned their attention to the Nazis, who finally managed to turn off the generator."

"What happened then?" Rangiku asked.

"That" said the guard "Is something I will not say. Not at this time, at least. Suffice it to say, it did not go well for out side."

As he finished speaking, there was a loud explosion at the other end of the prison complex. The guard quickly left the cell, and closed & locked the door behind him. Orihime & Rangiku crept up to the door in an to attempt listen to the commotion. Though the door was thick, they were able to hear the shouting of many of the guards. They heard someone running back towards their cell, and they quickly went back to their cots & sat down. The door opened up, and it was the same guard as before.

"What's going on?" asked Orihime. "What's the commotion?"

The guard was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"It seems as though the soul society has finally decided to fight back." he said.

**Chapter 22**

"Decided to fight back?" asked Rangiku. "I thought everyone was locked up. How did they escape?"

"Noone escaped." the guard said. "Hitsugaya, the captain that escaped a couple of days ago, managed to attack this prison. Both captains & average soldiers are quickly running out of this place, and attempting to regroup elsewhere. Already a few groups have begun to fight back, and are causing trouble. It's my job to keep you in here until everything is settled down."

Rangiku turned to Orihime, and a mischievous smirk appeared on her face. She leaned towards Orihime's ear, and began to whisper something. Orihime nodded back & forth in apparent agreement, and let out a small giggle. Curious, the guard stepped forward to try to listen in on their conversation. When he got close to them, Rangiku threw another pillow at him. "Naughty boy, don't you know it's impolite to listen in on someone else's conversation."

With a flustered face, the guard stepped back. Rangiku continued to whisper into Orihime's ear for 30 more seconds, then ended her conversation. The two of them nodded in agreement, and turned around to face the guard. He began to feel incredibly nervous, as both of the girls had a grin on their faces that would make the Cheshire Cat blush. The guard stepped back further until he was up against the cell door.

"Uh girls, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Oh nothing." said Rangiku. "We were just thinking that you and the boys are incredibly lonely, and we were going to be nice & keep you company."

"Oh, uh...thanks." the guard said nervously. "What do you guys have...planned?"

Orihime turned to Rangiku, and she gave a nod. "Oh, nothing." said Orihime. "Me & my friend Rangiku here were going to show you these!" When she finished her sentence, she & Rangiku both lifted up their shirt & uniform, and their breasts immediately fell out. Their large size & light skin were mesmerizing the guard, who could do nothing but stare. A minute later, the guard began to drool. Shortly after he began to salivate, he began to feel dizzy, and fainted due to shock. Seeing this as their chance to escape the cell, the got up from their cots, and proceed towards the cell door. They tried to open it, but the guard must have locked it. Orihime saw the keys on the guard's belt, and proceeded to take them. She took the largest key, and placed it in the cell's lock. With a twist of the key, the cell door opened, and they both escaped.

When they got out, the closed the door, and locked it in case the guard would try to escape. As they were running down the hall, Orihime quickly spoke to Rangiku. "You know" she said "I might not like it when people stare at me, but I like my breasts."

"Me too!" Rangiku said loudly, and the both of them laughed as they ran.

**Chapter 23**

Hitsugaya went through the hole he created in the north end of the prison complex. A few of the guards were running away in panic, but five of them got in front of him, with guns at the ready. They aimed square center for Hitsugaya's chest, but he wasn't frightened in the slightest. In fact, he seemed to want the guards to shoot at him. He got into a stance, and prepared to draw his blade.

"Alright!" Hitsugaya shouted. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

The guards were silent, save for the cocking of their guys. The guard in the middle stepped forward, and shouted out to the others. "Bereit! Ziel! Feuer!" With the last word shouted, each guard unleashed a barrage of bullets. As the guns fired, Hitsugaya drew his zanpakuto, and deflected each and every one of the bullets that came at him. The guards dropped their guns in sheer horror, and attempted to run. Before they could get away, Hitsugaya pointed his sword at the retreating guards, and shouted out "Reign over the frozen heavens!" A wall of ice came rushing out of the tip of his sword quicker than a bullet train, and slammed into the guards. A cloud of snow was floating in the air, and each of the guards were within the wall, their faces of horror permanently encased in ice.

"Fools. They had no idea what they were doing." Hitsugaya said, then sheathed his blade. He walked towards the massive hole in the prison that he created. As he walked, he saw his men, and several others from different squads. He walked right up to one of his own soldiers, and attempted to get information.

"Soldier!" shouted Hitsugaya. "What is going on?"

The soldier was stunned to see his captain in one piece, but spoke shortly after. "The men & there captains are gathering all over the soul society in a counterattack. We're doing all we can to give these Nazi bastards some hell." the soldier. "What about you sir? Are you ready to lead into battle?"

"No." said Hitsugaya firmly. "I have something...personal to take care of. If you come across sub-captain Rangiku, tell her that she is in commando until I get back."

"Yes sir!" shouted the soldier. "Oh, one other thing captain."

"What's that, soldier?" asked Hitsugaya.

The soldier spoke. "Rukia Kuchiki is still locked in her cell. If you are looking for her, she's on the second floor. We would have rescued her, but we were scrambling to get out after you attacked."

"It's alright. I can understand your desire for freedom." said Hitsugaya. "Now go & regroup with Rangiku. I'll see you later."

The soldier ran of to join the others, while Hitsugaya went inside the ruined prison. Only two things were on his mind: rescuing Rukia from her cell, and getting revenge against the one foe that defeated him in single combat.

The prison was not the pristine building it once was. It was littered with the rubble that Hitsugaya created after his attack. Lights were blinking on & off due to the damage to the generator in the building. This was one of the few times that Hitsugaya was surprised by the strength of an attack, but he quickly got past that when he saw the stairs to the second floor, With a quick breath, he proceeded to walk up the stairs.

When he got to the second floor, he began to look to his left & right for the cell that contained Rukia. He didn't seem to find it, until her heard a faint sobbing coming from the left side. As he walked in that direction, the sobbing seemed to get louder. It became more intense as he stood in front of the cell that apparently held Rukia. He was surprised to find that her cell door was unlocked as he opened it.

When he took a step inside, he noticed that it was completely dark inside. He looked around for a light switch, and managed to find one, but suddenly stopped when Rukia at him in a sudden pause of her sobbing.

"Don't turn on the light!"

Taking his hand off of the switch, Hitsugaya stood in the doorway. Though usually cold, he began to feel some emotion for his saddened friend. He began to strike up a conversation with a question.

"Why don't you want me to turn on the light?"

Rukia stopped sobbing again and answerd him. "Because, I need something to match my mind right now. I have noone left, and I'm about ready to kill myself. You're unusually concerned with me. What is up with that?"

After she asked her question, Hitsugaya turned on the light in the cell, and stormed towards Rukia, who was tightly curled in the corner. He forcefully picked her up off the floor, and slapped her across the face with the force of a train. "What was that for!?" she yelled.

"You think you're brother would want to see you like this!?" Hitsugaya asked while he was yelling. "Pick yourself up, and get revenge against the ones who truly killed your brother, and stop pitying yourself." Realizing that perhaps he was a little too harsh with his comrade, he let go of Rukia, and pulled out a white silken cloth from a pocket, then gave it to her friend. She swiftly grabbed it, and wiped her eyes & nose, then gave it back to Hitsugaya.

"I didn't mean to be so harsh." said Hitsugaya. "Now, go and get your revenge."

Rukia managed to put on something of a smile, then nodded. She walked towards the open cell, then turned around to look at the captain one last time. "Thank you." she said, then walked out of sight. Hitsugaya was glad that she was better. Now, it was time to go and get his revenge. He hoped that it wouldn't be too difficult.

**Chapter 24**

Faust was walking furiously down the hall. His fists were tightly clenched, and his footsteps could be heard for miles. He was looking for the one man that he blamed for the prison escape, and was waiting to dish out punishment. He finally stopped in front of an office door, with a sign above it saying "Heinrich Himmler: Militar Kommandant." He took a step inside, ready to met out some discipline.

He saw his military commander at a large table, covered with maps & documents. All around his top general were his aides, who were helping him plan a defense & a counterattack of their own. Already, the fuhrer could hear the sounds of explosions & guns going off in the far distance. He could only hope that his forces would be the victor in this battle. That was put in the back of his mind when he walked to the table. Himmler and his aides immediately saw their leader, stood completely straight up, raised their right arms, and shouted out "Sieg Hiel!" Faust immediately did the same, then yelled out a simple phrase.

"Everyone in the room...GET OUT! Himmler, you stay here. I have to speak with you."

Himmler's aides walked right out the room, while Himmler stood at his position at the table. He began to sweat nervously, and his arms shook slightly. The fuhrer walked slowly towards his military commander, taking off a black glove off his right hand. He stopped right in front of Mr. Himmler, and immediately slapped him in the face. He placed the glove back on his hand, all the while observing his commander rubbing is reddened face.

"Have I displeased you my fuhrer?" Himmler asked.

"You certainly have." Faust spoke. "Can you explain to me why the soul society is fighting back, and not suffering in our prisons? Make your excuse good, and I might not have you executed!"

Himmler finished rubbing his face, and began to answer the fuhrer's question. "It wasn't the fault of my men or myself, my Fuhrer. My soldier were constantly ready for someone to escape, not a single person to attack. They were totally off guard, so I ordered them to retreat. As of now, I am planning a counter attack against those who have escaped."

The fuhrer rubbed his chin in quiet contemplation, then spoke. "Not a bad explanation." said Faust. "Alright then, now that has been taken care off, there's one other thing to do. Have you heard about any attacks against the generator?"

"No my fuhrer." said Himmler. "The site has not reported to either me or Von Bulow about any attacks. They are near full operations. The only thing they're waiting for is you, and the preparations have been made for you to get into...the suit."

Faust let a small, sinister smile appear on his face. "Wunderbar. I'll be on my way. You keep it up with the counterattack, and don't fail me Heinrich."

"Ich will nicht im stich lassen, mein Fuhrer." said Himmer. The fuhrer then walked away, and Himmler's aides came back into the room, ready to aide their commander. The fuhrer's heart swelled with pride. He was sure that the Fourth Reich would win the battle, and become the new leaders of the soul society. He was now on his way to the generator, and on his way to get ready for the final battle.

**Chapter 25**

After their conversation, Ichigo was brought into a small meeting room. It only had a small table, and two wooden chairs on each end of the table. In front of him was a pitcher of water, and a small glass. He poured a small amount of water and took a drink. The clear fluid felt good going down his throat. Ever since the energy of the black sun began to invade his soul, he felt his body began to change. Sometimes, his heart would beat a little slower, and other times he would cough up blood that was as black as the abyss.

The light from the lamp that was above the table flickered for a moment, and during that time, Ichigo thought that he was seeing into another dimension. Once the light became stable, there was a knock at the door. Ichigo turned to face the door, and there was another knock. "Hello" said the voice on the other side of the door. Ichigo was surprised, as he realized it was Captain Mayuri of the science division.

"Come in." said Ichigo.

Mayuri opened the door, and sat down across from Ichigo. Seeing with anger, Ichigo was staring at the apparent turncoat. In an attempt to be civil, Ichigo was the first to start talking.

"Well well." he said "You seem to be doing well for yourself. Have your Nazi masters given you all you wanted."

"Before you think of me as a traitor, just hear me out." said Captain Mayuri. "I have information that will interest not just you, but the entire soul society as well."

"Why would I want you listen to you, traitor!" yelled Ichigo as he got up from his chair. "You turned your back on everyone! Why would I even believe a word that would come out of that corrupted mouth of yours!"

Mayuri slammed his fist into the table. "God Dammit, you will listen to me!" he yelled. "I've been risking everything I have for the rest of you! I won't be turned down now!"

Ichigo was stunned by the emotion that came from Captain Mayuri. He sat back down in his chair, and took another drink from his glass. My god, he though to himself, perhaps there is something to this. He leaned forward to listen to Mayuri, who was still furious over recent words. All he hoped for was that the captain would tell him everything.

"I can see you are willing to listen to me." spoke Captain Mayuri. "All right, I tell you what I know. You must promise me that the only people you will tell are the head captains, and other allies that the soul society trusts."

"I promise." said Ichigo.

"Well then" said Mayuri "I'll begin. I'll start off with something that you already know about...the generator. What do you know about it?"

"Not much." said Ichigo. "The only thing I know about is that it's supposed to harvest energy from the veil. That what I've been told."

"Well" said Captain Mayuri "you are right about that. The generator was designed to capture black sun energy for use in other machines & weapons. By that wasn't the only use for it. There were other, more darker purposes for it."

"Such as?" Ichigo asked.

Captain Mayuri spoke. "The generator is also capable of opening portals to other dimensions. With the right adjustments, the generator can even combine two dimensions together. This causes immense damage between the dimensions, and can even destroy them if two much force is used."

"Incredible." said Ichigo. "What has it got to do with the Nazis?"

"That's the disturbing part." said Captain Mayuri. "I've discovered that the Nazis are intending to link the veil to the soul society in an effort to control both dimensions. If that is actually accomplished, then there will be noone that can stop them."

Ichigo was stunned in such a way that he almost seemed catatonic. He knew that the Nazis were up to something, he just didn't realize how apocalyptic their plans were. He now knew that he and the rest of the soul society needed to fight back. The sounds of battle that were all around the building were a sign to him that at least the good guys were fighting back.

"Well" said Ichigo "that illuminates the situation."

"Indeed." said Captain Mayuri. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go back to my work. I've already been away from my position long enough already. If I'm out any longer, they'll suspect that something is going on. Oh, I almost forgot. I have someone else helping on the inside. When he finds you, you'll know him immediately."

When he finished talking, he got up from his seat & headed for the door. Before he could open it, Ichigo managed to blurt out a single sentence.

"Wait a minute! What do you mean by that last statement?"

Mayuri smiled. "You'll see." He said. He opened the door, and left Ichigo to his fate. In all of this talk, neither of them noticed a small glass orb watching them from a corner in the room. A large woman in another room was looking through an orb of her own. She set it down, then turned around to let out a sinister laugh. "Well, well" she said "I guess there was a rat after all."

**Chapter 26**

Rangiku & a small squad of six soldiers were holding down a small causeway. All around them, the sounds of guns firing & bombs exploding could be heard. They did not falter when the noises came closer to them, but instead were emboldened by them. More & more Nazis kept coming towards them, ready to fire.

"Hold the Line!" yelled Rangiku. "Don't let those bastards get through!"

Rangiku's men fought back against the Nazis with each. The average soldier was cut down in an instant. There upper half flew into the air, while their lower half fell to the ground every time they were sliced. A few of them retreated due to their numbers getting decimated, but most of them still stayed to fight. A stray bullet managed to land in the shoulder of a soul reaper fighting right next to Rangiku. He fell right to the ground, and howled in pain. Rangiku got onto her knees quickly, and attempted to numb the pain that one of her men was feeling.

"It's all right." said Rangiku "We'll get you some help. I need a medic here!"

A soul reaper with a red & white armband came over, and took the injured man away for treatment. The remaining men continued to fight, despite their slight sorrow for there fallen comrade. Then all of a sudden, the Nazis stopped firing. One of the commanding Nazis raised their right hand, and seemed to strike a conversation with the soul reapers.

"Fraulein" he said "it's practically useless to continue fighting. If you stop now, I can guarantee the fuhrer will be merciful with anyone that surrenders."

Rangiku stroked her chin, then responded back.

"Well" said Rangiku "that does sound like a good idea. There's just one problem with it."

"What's that, Fraulein?" the commander asked slyly.

"Well" Rangiku said "the fact that you guys are scumbags & bullies is the problem. The colors on your uniforms also just don't seem to clash well."

Gritting his teeth, the commander answered back. "Bitch, how dare you insult us & the Fourth Reich. Drache Soldaten, zunde sie in flammen!"

After he yelled, Rangiku & her remaining men could here the sound of boots coming towards them. The line of Nazi soldiers parted, revealing two men dressed in leather suits & gas masks. Each of them had what was apparently a tank on their backs, and connected to those tanks were hoses that had a nozzle. The commander looked at them, then motioned them forward with a wave of his hand. He turned to face Rangiku once again, then spoke.

"Well, this is the end for you. In der Hölle brennen, soul reaper hure!"

Two of Rangiku's men charged, but it was in vain. As soon as they charged, the soldiers

with the tanks on their back unleashed a torrent of flames from the nozzles they were holding. The fire almost covered Rangiku's men immediately. They were screaming incredibly as the flames covered their bodies, and the pain was so immense, they only thing they could do was roll on the ground to try to put the flames out. Unfortunately, they died a minute later, and their lifeless bodies continued to burn afterwards.

Rangiku was so horrified by the sight, she could only yell out one thing.

"Retreat!!!"

Without a second thought, Rangiku's men quickly sheathed their blades, and ran. Taking a quick look back, Rangiku soon followed. The Nazis began to chase after them, but a blue wave of energy came crashing down onto the ground right in front of them. Rangiku & her remaining suddenly stopped, and turned round. All they could see was a soul reaper flying down in front of them.

"Ichigo! Thank goodness you made it! How did you escape?"

Ichigo turned around, and flashed his signature grin. "Looks like I arrived just in time, and never mind how I escaped." he said. "Now get going. I'll take care of these pricks for you guys."

"Right." said Rangiku. "Men, lets keep moving."

Rangiku & her remaining men began to retreat again. Ichigo kept an eye on them, incase they got attacked by the Nazis from behind. They successfully managed to get away to safety, and Ichigo turned to face his foes. He began to grit his teeth in rage, but managed to growl out a line of speech.

"Alright! Which one of you fuckers wants to die first!?"

The Nazi commander stepped forward. "So" he said "you are the one the Reich is so interested in."

"Year, I am." he said. "Now, get ready you Nazi pricks, cause I'm coming after you!"

"I think not." said the commander. "Manner, offnen feuer!"

The Nazis unleashed a volley of bullets, but Ichigo was managed to deflect every single bullet with a slice of his zanpakuto. The moment he deflected the bullets, the Nazi soldiers immediately retreated. Only the flamethrower troopers & the commander were the only ones remaining, perhaps because of there stubborn pride. The commander was un-phased by Ichigo's display of power, and stepped forward to speak with him.

"Ha!" he laughed out loud. "That show of force doesn't frighten me or my Drache Soldaten at all. Mannner, brennen dies narr!"

Ichigo huffed. "You Nazis make it too easy for me." he said. The flames of the nozzles came towards him, but he began to spin his blade like a fan, causing the flames to dissipate as the wind blew them away. Ichigo stopped spinning his weapon, and the Nazis with the flamethrowers, were utterly stunned by their flames not reaching their target, they unleashed another torrent of fire. Just like last time, Ichigo spun his zanpakuto to deflect the flames. The soldiers didn't want to try a third attack, and ran away from the fight. Their commander was yelling "Come back!" at his running soldiers. He turned to face Ichigo, and managed to shout out one phrase before he followed them.

"Verdammt noch mal, soul reaper! You regret messing with the Fourth Reich!"

Ichigo was smiling. He showed the Nazis that they weren't the only ones in the soul society that had power. He sheathed he zanpakuto, and began to walk away. Before he could take another step, a sudden surge of power gripped his heart. He fell down to his knees, unable to move because of the pain. He clutched his chest to try to alleviate the pain, but it was for naught. The pain lessened a little, just as a voice began to ring in his head.

"Ichigo." said the voice. He immediately recognized it as the fuhrer of the Fourth Reich. "Ichigo. Come into the veil. Cooooomeeeeeee into the veil."

The pain immediately disappeared after the voice stopped talking. Ichigo got back onto his feet, and dusted the dirt off his legs. For some reason, he looked to the east, and began walking in that direction. He didn't know why, but he just had to walk that way.

**Chapter 27**

Captain Mayuri was walking quickly back to the generator library, as the room where the generator & books had been stored. With the fighting topside reaching a dangerous level, he was ordered by Professor Strassa to evacuate as many of the books as he was able to carry. This seemed an odd thing to do, but he didn't question it. He had to follow his orders in order to keep up his appearance as a member of the Fourth Reich. During his time as a Nazi scientist, he had come to discover things that were better left to the ruins they were found in. His plain was to get the books, hand them back to the scientists, and get back to his allies as soon as possible.

He got back to the library, where he noticed that the door was ajar. He crept up to it, incase whoever was inside wouldn't hear him. He got up to the door, and began to listen in on the intruder. He couldn't hear much. All that he was able to hear was the rustling of papers, and the sound of books being shoved into boxes. Sensing a lull in the movement, Mayuri rushed into the room to surprise the intruder, whom he was hoping wasn't armed. When he charged in, he breathed a sigh of relief as to who he saw.

It was the guard that was helping him the entire time. Mayuri let out a small laugh, and walked over to him. The two gentlemen shook each other's hand, and sparked a conversation.

"I'm surprised to see you here." said Mayuri. "Were you ordered to help me move the books?"

"I was." the guard said. "It's rather strange, but since it's an order, I have to follow it. Gotta keep up appearances, you know."

"Agreed." responded Captain Mayuri. "I'm just wondering when you'll finally tell who you are working for."

"I'll tell you when this war is over with." said the guard. "Until till then, you will have to keep on guessing."

Mayuri nodded, then got back to putting books into boxes. He was putting a book away, when he asked the guard a question.

"Hey" said Mayuri "did you talk to who I asked you to?"

"I told them what you wanted me to tell them." the guard said. "They know what I told them. You think any of them will believe what I had said?"

"I hope so." Mayuri said. "If they don't believe any of it, they we may not win this war."

As if on cue, two soldiers came storming into the room. Captain Mayuri & the guard that was helping him were startled, and raised that arms above their head. They slowly turned around the face the soldiers, so as to not cause any kind of panic. A minute later, the two men heard the sound of heels coming towards the room. They were thinking that it was Madame Blatvasky, and she was just unhappy with the pace of their packing. They were incredibly surprised to find out it was head of the information network, Helga von Bulow.

"Gentlemen, is everything going to schedule?" she asked.

"Yyyeees." said Captain Mayuri nervously. "We were just about finished with packing the books & papers."

"Good." she said. "Once you are done, I have something to say."

Captain Mayuri & the guard slowly lowered their arms, and got back to putting away the last of the books & papers that were still lying around. The guard attempted to whisper a conversation with Mayuri.

"Hey" the guard whispered "you think that they found out about us?"

"Not sure." responded Mayuri. "We both made sure not to get caught, and we also made sure to keep up appearances. I'll be very surprised if they have."

"If they did find us out" whispered the guard "I hope they just lock us up."

They finished putting the books & papers away a minute later. When they were done, Helga said "Now, turn around & raise your arms." The two men began to get increasingly nervous, as their theory of confinement faded away. It was a minute later when Helga would speak again.

"Gentlemen" she said "the Reich has been satisfied with your service. You have lent your strength when you were asked, and you never questioned anything. For that, we thank you. Unfortunately, we no longer require your services."

"What?" the guard blurted out, before he & Captain Mayuri were showered with dozens of bullets. Their bodies were flown backwards over the table, knocking it & the books right over. The blood from the bullet wounds began to leak on the floor. Helga's men walked over to the lifeless bodies of Captain Mayuri & the guard to see if they were fully dead. One of the soldiers kicked Captain Mayuri's body. He nodded to Helga, confirming that he was fully dead. Helga snorted out in triumph, and spoke out a single phrase.

"Traitors. They deserve nothing but a swift death."

**Chapter 28**

Captain Hans Fredrick was looking out onto the war-torn battlefield, and he was pleased. His heavy troopers were decimating the soul reapers that were charging. The rays from their particle cannons were completely disintegrating the charging forces, leaving nothing but green stains upon the ground. Captain Fredrick began to pace back & forth from his position upon the wall. His metallic-encased body made his footsteps loud enough to be heard ever through the sounds of war.

"Men, move forward!" shouted Captain Fredrick. His men began to move forward, still firing on the soul reapers. Some of the soul reapers were foolish enough to attack the heavy troopers, and their attacks simply bounced off the armor. In turn, one blow from a heavy trooper's fist was all it took to kill a soul reaper, as the force was too strong to block. As the bodies were flying, Captain Fredrick took another look over the battlefield. Still satisfied with how is men were slaughtering the foolish soul reapers. He stopped for a moment when he thought he saw a white speck way off in the distance.

Captain Fredrick motioned to his assistant to hand him the binoculars that he was wearing. The assistant gave him the binoculars, and the captain proceeded to look through them. He wasn't able to see the white speck any better, so he adjusted the sights. Though it still wasn't perfect, he managed to see what was apparently a human figure. He adjusted the sights again, and this time he was able to see through perfectly. It was the foe he couldn't claim...Toshiro Hitsugaya.

Captain Fredrick gave back the binoculars to his assistant. He turned to him, and gave out an order.

"Assistant. Fetch me the microphone for the speaker system. I have an announcement to make."

"Right away, oberfuhrer." shouted the assistant, who walked right away to fetch the microphone. Captain Fredrick turned back to face the battlefield. Well, thought the captain, it seems that my foe has come back to me. It's time to settle things once & for all.

The assistant came back 3 minutes later with the microphone. He handed it to the captain, who tapped it to see if it was working. A loud screech came over the entire speaker, and everyone that heard it immediately stopped fighting, and turned to face the captain.

"Achtung!" Captain Fredrick shouted. "Veil Troopers, retreat behind the wall. I repeat, retreat to the safety of the wall. Bewegen!"

The veil troopers immediately began to retreat back towards the wall. As they were running back, the soul reapers were prepared to follow them, but Hitsugaya appeared in the throng of soldiers. They were amazed at the arrival of one of the captains, as many of them still assumed that the Nazis still had them imprisoned. Hitsugaya walked into the middle of the crowd of soul reapers, stepped up onto a small rock, and shouted out.

"Soldiers of the Soul Society! Rejoin the other squads, while I take care of this Nazi bastard! He and I have a score to settle!"

Shocked by the words that Captain Hitsugaya just shouted, the soul reapers began to evacuate, looking for other squads to join. The last of them left 3 minutes later, and the only one left on the battlefield was Hitsugaya. He turned to face Captain Fredrick, who was gazing down at him from the top of the wall. He and his assistant left not a moment later, leaving the top of the wall completely barren.

A moment later, a large door opened up in the middle of the wall, and Captain Fredrick came out for a fight. Hitsugaya began walking forward towards his foe, itching to get some payback. Each of them were staring intensely at the other, trying to measure each other & wearing the other down through sheer mind power. Finally, the two men stopped within 10 inches of each other, getting one last look before they would fight.

"Well" said Captain Fredrick "I'm very surprised to see you here. How are your ribs doing? For that matter, how are your two female friends doing?"

Hitsugaya gritted his teeth in silent rage. "That's none of your concern." He said in a growling voice. "Let's cut out the formalities. I'm here for one reason, and that's to send your Nazi ass straight to hell." He got into his fighting stance, and placed his hands on his zanpakuto. "I hope you are ready for a beating."

Captain Fredrick reaching for the same silver rod that he drew on his opponent days earlier. He pushed a button, but this time, the rod did not turn into a hammer. The rod grew in length, and the last 8 inches became as thin as paper. A blade, Hitsugaya though to himself. I'll have to change my strategy.

Captain Fredrick was watching Hitsugaya's eyes, observing the change in his opponent's thought pattern. He was happy that he could change his opponent's thinking, and in a split second, charged right at Hitsugaya. In a flash, Fredrick's opponent had drawn out his blade just in time to block his attack. A shower of sparks a moment later, and the two fighters had their blades locked in furious combat.

"You know something" said Captain Fredrick, as he was pressing down with his weapon. "I find you to be a challenging opponent. It's a shame that I'll defeat you."

"Likewise." said Hitsugaya. "You are an opponent that I will never forget. If you weren't with the Nazis, I'd let you live. Unfortunately, that's not the case."

A second later, both warriors parted weapons & jumped back to catch a breath. They began to look over each other for signs of an opening. As Hitsugaya was looking upon Captain Fredrick, he caught a glimpse at the two glowing canisters on his opponent's shoulders. Thinking that they were the source of his power, Hitsugaya planed to go after the one that was on the right shoulder. Getting into a charging stance, he sprinted forward with the speed of lightning. He got within an inch of Captain Fredrick before his opponent grabbed him with his left hand, and picked him up off the ground.

"Really?" asked Captain Fredrick sarcastically, and immediately threw Hitsugaya over his body. As he was flying through the air, Hitsugaya took a chance, and struck at the right canister. It quickly cracked, and exploded in bunch of green shards. Landing on his feet, he turned around to observe his foe, who was in complete shock. Captain Fredrick was feeling around where the canister used to be, and turned to speak with his foe.

"Well" he said "it seems that this just got a little more interesting. Come again, if you wish."

Hitsugaya grinned, and dashed at Captain Fredrick. He tried to go for the left canister, but was blindsided by a knee to his stomach. The force was enough to move his organs around his body for a second, which was incredibly unsettling. Hitsugaya fell to his knees and coughed up blood, which made a dark puddle on the ground. For a moment, the captain could see a pale reflection of himself within the puddle. A few drops of leftover blood rolled down his chin, and stained a part of his uniform. Seeing the blood sparked something within Hitsugaya. Something that he hadn't felt since his early days in training.

He got back to his feet, knelt back down to pick up his zanpakuto, and got back into his fighting stance. At this point, his body was starting to show signs of heavy fatigue. His arms & legs were shaking, blood was still leaking out of the corners of his mouth, his right eye was starting to swell shut, and his breathing was heavy. Yet, he was still determined to defeat his foe.

"You know" said Captain Fredrick "if you were a recruit in my division, and you'd show just as much spirit in the training as you are showing right now, I would have become my right-hand man."

"Really?" asked Hitsugaya slyly.

"Of course." the captain said. "In fact, there's just enough time to join right now. All you need to do is throw away the hold that the Soul Society has on you, disavow those that serve you, and that's about it." Captain Fredrick extended his left hand in an attempt to gain Hitsugaya's trust. "What do you say to my offer?" he asked.

In a flash, Captain Fredrick's left canister was struck by a shard of ice. He gripped it with his right hand, and tried to pull it out. It gave a lot of resistance, as the shard was in very deep. Finally, after adding some extra strength, he managed to pull out the shard. Bright green fluid leaked from where the ice shard was pulled out. A moment later, the glass that contained the green fluid crumbled into sparkling dust.

"On the other hand" Captain Fredrick said "perhaps you would be a little too disobedient for my tastes."

"Enough of that!" Hitsugaya yelled. "I took out your energy cylinders. You should be down for the count. What's your secret?"

"Heh heh heh." Captain Fredrick laughed. "There's always a backup." As soon as he finished talking, an exposed energy rod rose from his backpack. Steam came out as the rod reached it's full extension, where it appeared as a sinister lightning rod, waiting to be sparked.

"Just like a Nazi." said Hitsugaya. "Always sneaky, and never afraid to have a backup plan when the chips are down. This just means more work for me."

"And now...for the third!" spoke Captain Fredrich loudly.

Hitsugaya charged Captain Fredrick, hoping to trip him, and take out the energy rod. He almost managed to trip him, but was blocked by a sudden swipe to his leg, sending him down to the ground. He landed with a loud thud, causing more pain throughout his body. He barely managed to roll on the ground when Captain Fredrick walked right toward his body, and placed his left boot upon his opponent's chest. The pressure was causing intense pain, and at one moment, Hitsugaya thought that he heard a rib crack. His body was about to give out, but in the corner of his mind, he heard something. At first he couldn't tell what the noise was, but the noise got louder & louder, until he finally was able to hear it. It was the sounds of his men fighting. Their cries, their yells, their shouts, he could hear it all.

Hitsugaya's body began to stir after hearing his men. Seeing that he still had some life left in him, Captain Fredrick put more pressure on his chest, but this did little. Grabbing his left leg, Hitsugaya began to rise up from the ground, with the most furious look that ever came across his face. Shocked that his foe could still move, much less fight, Captain Fredrick felt one of the few things that he never felt in his life...fear. He tried to get his leg free from Hitsugaya's grip, but the grip holding it was too strong, even for him. He even began to feel pressure in the left leg's bones, despite the protection that his suit provided. He glanced quickly at Hitsugaya, who only stared at him. Then, Hitsugaya would yell the last words that Captain Fredrick would ever hear.

"Hope Hell is just right for you!"

With those words shouted, he pulled Captain Fredrick towards him, and grasped the energy rod. It burnt the palm of his right hand, but he managed to pulled the rod right off of Captain Fredrick's suit. He quickly backed off of his foe, who was beginning to glow green, and looked for some cover. He found a pile of rubble, and quickly ran behind it. He took a glance from behind the rubble, and saw that Captain Fredrick was trying to grasp the empty area where the rod was, all the while small explosion of green energy coming from all over his suit. He tried to walk towards Hitsugaya, but exploded a second later, scattering metal & body parts.

Hitsugaya got out from behind the rubble, and saw only a green stain where Captain Fredrick exploded. He walked over to examine the stain, and let out a small laugh, all the while clutching his chest. "Good Riddance" he said, and spat on the ground. He began to walk away from the battlefield, when he spotted Captain Fredrick's gun. Thinking that it would make a good trophy, he picked it up, and placed it on his back. He would walk away from this encounter with something that would never go away from his mind.

**Chapter 29**

Ichigo kept following the voice that was in his head. While he wasn't completely sure, he knew that somehow, the fuhrer was behind this recent development. When he paused to take a breath, he would hear the same voice, calling to him "Ichigo. Come to the veil. Coooooooooome to the veil." It was incredibly haunting, yet for some reason he couldn't seem to ignore what the voice in his head wanted him to do.

As he was walking, he caught a glimpse of a large, cathedral-like building ahead of him. As the distance between him and the building, the voice seemed to lessen, but the presence within his head was still around. When he got to the front of the cathedral, the voice had finally stopped speaking, and he stood in front of what was perhaps one of the grandest building that he had ever come across.

The cathedral was about as big as an entire football field, and the style of architecture appeared to be that of the middle ages. It appeared to very worn down, yet it did not appear to Ichigo that the cathedral would fall down anytime soon. There were gargoyles at every corner of the building, and they all seemed to be staring at Ichigo, who noticed that they seemed to follow his movements. The only thing that was missing at the cathedral was the roof. The entire complex was open to the darkening sky, and Ichigo thought that he felt a drop of rain on his head.

Before he could examine the cathedral any further, a glowing green arrow came flying out of the sky, and struck the ground just left of Ichigo. He turned his head around, and saw a dozen more arrows coming down on his location. He managed to dodge all of them, but then proceeded to be smacked in the back by an unseen force, and was sent flying into the wooden door of the cathedral. He got up, dusted himself off, and turned to see his attackers.

The first attacker was a skinny individual. A mop of jet-black hair was greased to the left side of his face, and it had somewhat of a shimmer to it. He was wearing nothing more that black & green skin-tight pants, with thin black straps wrapped around his left hand. Instead of a right hand, there was a stringless black bow attached. It shimmered when Ichigo caught glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye.

The second attacker was rather large. All along the upper torso of this imposing figure were muscles that could shatter bullets if they were fired upon. His large, black boot covered feet could crush mountains if this figure were to set foot on one. Ichigo could sense a feeling of shadowy dread within his body as this large figure stared down at him. The biggest part of this individual was his fists. Both of them were about as big as the ripest watermelon, and they were just as capable of crushing anything that they touched. Ichigo was surprised that he wasn't taken out immediately after getting punched from behind.

"We cannot let you pass." said the first attacker in a monotone voice.

"Agreed, we cannot." said the second attacker in an equal monotone voice.

"Who are you two?" asked Ichigo, who was still trying to recover from the blow to his back.

"I am the Arrow." said the first attacker.

"The Fist am I." said the second attacker.

"The Arrow & the Fist?" Ichigo asked.

"Indeed." said the two attackers at the same time. "We are the guardians of the door to the veil, and the generator that brings the two worlds together. We represent the aspects of the Black Sun: Strength & Guile."

As they finished talking, a green ray immediately shot out of the cathedral, and into the sky. When the green ray reached the highest point in the sky, it began to send pulses outward, and the clouds began to turn a bright green. Pretty soon, the sky itself was turning the same color, send an ominous feeling over the entire Soul Society.

"It has begun." said the Arrow & Fist. "Soon, the Fourth Reich will pierce the Veil, and bring it's eldritch might into this world. We must buy the Fuhrer time until everything is complete. Defend yourself."

When they finished talking, the arrow flew straight up into the air, while the fist began to spin around like a top, and headed straight towards Ichigo. Pulling out his zanpakuto, he began to figure out how to defeat his opponents. It wouldn't be easy, seeing as how they had fighting styles that meshed with each other, yet made Ichigo's fighting style ineffective.

He saw the arrow pull back the string on his bow, and let loose a volley of green arrows. They flew with the speed of a jet liner, and left a trail on energy as they fell. Ichigo managed to dodge most of the arrows, but one landed straight into his right shoulder. He felt surprisingly little pain, and simply left it in, planning to remove it after the fight. He saw that the fist was whirling towards him. When he got close, Ichigo began to feel his spiritual pressure to wane, and got slammed in the stomach by a blow from the fist. He flew into a small rock outcropping, and was stunned by the impact.

He went flying into the wooden door again, but this time, he went flying through it with a blast of splinters & rusted metal. He rolled on the smooth stone floor, and stopped with a screeching halt. The green arrow that was in his shoulder had broken off, leaving the tip still inside. He could feel it inside, but this time he could tell that it was affecting him somehow. His spiritual pressure re-stabilized, but it seemed weakened somehow.

The arrow landed back down on the ground. A quiet, hoarse whisper came forth from his mouth. It was a kind of laughter that sent chills into Ichigo's soul. Despite being a strong-willed individual, Ichigo felt something eery within him.

"You probably want to know what is happening to you?" the Arrow said. "The arrow tip that's in your shoulder; it's made of modified Black Sun energy. My arrows are connected to my partner's fists. Slowly, your spiritual pressure will be drained, and added to his veil pool. Within a matter of minutes, you will be nothing more than a husk that will blow in the wind."

When he finished speaking, Ichigo remembered the conversation that he had with Chad and Uriu when they were imprisoned. He recalled that Uriu said that he & Chad were experimented on by the Nazi scientists, and their energy & abilities were copied. He also remembered Uriu saying something about the "Arrow of the Black Sun" and the "Fist of the Black Sun". It was then that he realized that he was fighting the very same beings that his friend was talking about.

"You are a kink in the Fourth Reich's plan." said the Fist. "You threw away the Fuhrer's offer to join us, to adapt to your growing new abilities. Because of that, you must be take out of the Fourth Reich's plans for domination."

Ichigo grabbed his zanpakuto off of the ground, and grasped it with both of his hands. By this stage, his hands were shaking, yet the grip on his weapon was still strong. The vision in his eyes, however, were beginning to blur, perhaps due to the arrowhead that was stuck in his shoulder. Ichigo then dropped his weapon, and stuck his fingers into the wound where the arrowhead lay. It stung, but he finally felt it, and grasped it with his pointer & middle finger. It was stuck for a moment or two, but Ichigo eventually pulled the arrowhead out of his shoulder. The pain was excruciating, as a little bit of skin and muscle came with the arrowhead. Fortunately, the pain mostly subsided after a moment or two. He tossed the arrowhead to the ground, and it fizzled into a puff of green smoke.

"Well, well" said the Arrow "it seems as if you found the arrowhead. It's already too late. Enough of your spiritual pressure has been drained, and the Fist has enough veil energy within him that he can crush you to oblivion."

"So what if my spiritual pressure has been drained?" questioned Ichigo. "There's still enough juice in me that I can kick your ass."

"That may be true" said the Fist "but take a look above you."

Ichigo looked upward, and saw a horrifying site. There was large, dark hole in the glowing, green sky where the sun used to be. He could hear strange whispers traveling through the air around him, but they seemed to be nothing more than gibberish. Shadows seemed to be slithering & changing shape constantly. The hole in the sky was sucking in a variety of things: shingles, dead bodies, scrap metal, etc. Ichigo could only guess as to where they were heading to.

The Fist spoke again. "That is a gateway to the veil. It take things from this world, and uses it as fuel. The geists that inhabit the veil can come through, and devour the living to reproduce. There isn't much time left before this world is overrun by the Black Sun."

Ichigo had to think fast. He had to figure out how to take out his two opponents, and once that was done, he had to figure out to get into the veil and stop the Fuhrer. It was then that he decided to do the one thing that he would never do. Getting into a meditative stance, he went into his mind where the Black Sun was invading his spirit.

He saw himself floating in inky blackness. Green motes of energy were sparkling all through this darkness, putting Ichigo in a strange state of calmness. Once his mind was at ease, he began to move himself through the darkness with the sheer force of his mind. He didn't know what he was looking, but he knew that he needed to look around. For what seemed like a day, Ichigo still searched for the key to his current predicament.

He kept floating through the darkness, until he spotted something. He saw four distinct motes of energy that were different from the others. He moved towards them, and saw that they held a unique energy. The red one emanated piercing strength, while as the yellow one somehow gave him a burst of supernatural speed, and the green one seemed to slow down the area around him. It was the blue one that interested Ichigo the most. The blue mote of energy seemed to bolster his defenses & give him better sight.

Mesmerized by their energy, and determined to stop the Nazi takeover once and for all, Ichigo touched the energy motes, and the energy within them transferred to his body. Once the energy settled in his psyche, he came out of his meditative stance. We he came out of it, it appeared as if time didn't pass at all. Immediately, the Arrow & the Fist noticed that there was something new about their foe.

"It seems as if you have finally embraced the powers of the Veil." said the Arrow. "Unfortunately for you, Time is just about up. Now, submit to the Reich, and be gone from this reality."

As he finished talking, a yellow blur sped past him. He turned around to see what it was, and a blade to his gut was the last thing that he ever saw. Blood was leaking out from the corners of his mouth, and his body began to shudder. Ichigo withdrew his zanpakuto from the Arrow, and the body fell lifelessly to the ground. His dark, black eyes rolled back into his head, and the blood from his mouth began to slow down, until it started drying onto his face. The ground shook for a moment, send debris all over the place, and knocked down Ichigo. He got back, and saw that the Fist was two feet in front of him.

Going back into his mind, Ichigo drew on the powers of the red & blue energy motes that he discovered moments ago. His blade began to glow with an unearthly red, and a clear, blue lens appeared in front of him. Without a moment's notice, the Fist charged towards Ichigo, but ran into the shield that was erected a second ago with a loud thud. He was dazed, and began stumbling around. Laughing to himself for a moment, Ichigo dashed towards the stumbling Fist, and stabbed him straight in the back. Feeling the searing pain, the Fist whirled around, and punched Ichigo straight in the stomach. Ichigo fell straight to his knees, but not before he was able to loosen his weapon, which fell to the ground.

"Just give up." said the Fist.

"Never!" growled Ichigo loudly, who picked up his zanpakuto, and with a yellow flash, sliced at the Fist's neck. The Fist's body was frozen for a moment, but then his head began to slide off, and land on the ground with a sickening thud. Blood spurted out, and his body went down to the ground as quick as a crumbling tower. Blood continued to spurt out of the neck, then began to coagulate into a thick, black pool.

Ichigo wiped the blood off of his blade, and re-sheathed it. Gazing down at the lifeless body & head that was the Fist, he then turned his attention to the generator in the middle of the cathedral. The green ray of energy continued to shoot into the sky, bringing in the energy of the Black Sun, and the darkness of the Veil. Not knowing what to do, Ichigo walked toward the generator to try to turn it off. Before he could be up-close with it, the ground shook again. Unlike the first time, the shaking was much more violent. The columns of the cathedral were beginning to fall down, and Ichigo was too far away from the entrance to escape in one piece. It was then that a green portal opened in front of the generator. Not knowing where it would lead him, Ichigo foolishly jumped in, then everything came crashing down.

**Chapter 30**

With a flash, Ichigo appeared in a small underground cave. Behind him, the green portal was contained within a metal arch with eldritch glyphs carved in. There wasn't much light in the cave, except for the portal, which was now barely giving out light, and a small oil lamp onto a wooden table. Curious, Ichigo walked over to see if there was anything on it. All that was on the table was a pickaxe, a pen in a holder, and some scrap paper weighted down by a small rock. He was about to examine the papers, when he heard a roar coming from beyond the cave.

He began to step in the direction where he assumed the noise was coming from. Getting closer, he saw a green glow at what appeared to be the entrance of the cave. Appearing at the lip a moment later, he saw what was perhaps the most amazing sight that he had ever seen.

A large stone tower stood right in the middle of a black void. All over the tower were carvings of an alien civilization, glyphs spelling out dire prophecies, and streams of green light pouring out at random intervals. The top of the tower had a massive tiled black sun, which was bigger than anything that he had see while he was back in the Soul Society. A moderately large metal spire was right in the middle of the tower's top, and this struck Ichigo's curosity.

He stepped right out of the cave, and saw no real way to get over there. As soon as he thought of that, stones immediately rose up from the void to form a solid bridge. Impressed, and surprised at the same time, Ichigo began to cross the bridge. He was careful to not look over the bridge, and to make sure that he walked slowly. The stones held firmly, and Ichigo's pace quickened when he noticed. He finally got to his destination, and as soon as he stepped onto the tower's top, the stone bridge collapsed into the void.

Ichigo finally had a better view of the metal spire. It appeared to be a satellite tower, complete with a radar, antennas, and a control panel. A metal ring surrounded the top of the satellite, and a ladder on the left side led up to it. Knowing that this was the component to the Nazi's takeover, Ichigo immediately began to walk towards the tower, but was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Well, Mr. Kurosaki, I'm impressed that you actually made it into the Veil. I though that the Arrow and the Fist would have killed you!"

"Faust!" yelled Ichigo. "Come out, and show yourself!"

"Getting down to business, I see." said the Fuhrer. "Very well, I'll show myself to you."

Expecting for the Fuhrer to come from behind the satellite, Ichigo began looking around for him. All of a sudden, he heard a crackling, electrical sound coming from behind him. He turned to look, and a green portal similar to that in the cave, immediately appeared. Out of the portal stepped the Fuhrer, decked out in black medieval full-plate. On the chest was a bronze medallion, and four gemstone were place at each of the cardinal direction. Ichigo immediately noticed that the gemstones had the exact same colors as the ones that he embraced earlier.

"Welcome to the Veil, Mr. Kurosaki." Faust said. "What do you think of it all?"

"It certainly is unique" said Ichigo "but that isn't why I'm here."

"Of course, how stupid of me." said Faust "I could tell that you weren't here for sightseeing when I sensed that the Arrow and the Fist died. Very well, I suppose I can play with you for a moment or two. There is just one thing before you and I play."

"What's that?" asked Ichigo.

"Take a look above you."

"What?" asked Ichigo.

The Fuhrer pointed right past Ichigo, and he turned around. Right above him was what this whole thing was all about...the Black Sun.

It was a giant massive sphere, as big as the moon. As black as the darkest night, it was sucking in all the debris from the Soul Society and within the void, and completely disintegrating it. Every now at then, the green corona surrounding the Black Sun would send out a pulse of energy that would travel the entire void. It came through the top of the tower, and a green ray immediately shot out from the satellite. It connected with the Black Sun, and lights all over the satellite tower began to turn on.

"The final step has begun." the Fuhrer said. "Soon, our takeover of the Soul Society will be fully complete, and the reign of the Fourth Reich will begin!"

Ichigo, now more than ever, needed to stop Faust from combining the Soul Society with the Veil. It was at this time that the powers that he discovered were changing somehow. He only hoped that they would still be reliable in the coming fight.

Drawing his zanpakuto, Ichigo immediately charged the Fuhrer, intending to use a single strike to heavily disable his opponent. His attack was stopped when the Fuhrer raised his left hand, and telekinetically lifted him up. Ichigo was only able to wiggle around in the air as Faust came walking towards him. Staring into his eyes, the Fuhrer clenched his right hand into a fist, and punched Ichigo in the stomach. The force of the blow caused him to fly right straight to the edge of the tower, almost falling over. Ichigo got back up from the attack, amazed at how much force there was in the punch.

"You know" said the Fuhrer "that my offer still stands Mr. Kurosaki. All it takes is one word, and I think you know what it is."

"I'll say it again...NO!" yelled Ichigo "I'll never join the Reich! Never!"

"Ha, Ha" laughed the Fuhrer "I had a feeling that was going to be your response....Tell me something, Mr. Kurosaki."

"What?" growled Ichigo.

"Why do you continue to serve the Soul Society?" asked the Fuhrer. "You aren't even a real Soul Reaper, and you continue to be at their beck & call as if you were a thoroughbred horse. What is it that they have that the Fourth Reich doesn't have?"

"I often wonder about that myself" said Ichigo as he was clutching his chest "as I'm often confused about the whole situation. However, they have a drive & integrity that you seem to lack."

"Drive & integrity!?" yelled the Fuhrer. "Dare I say this, but they are more bloodthirsty than us! They did whatever it took to gain power & influence at the cost of lives. You support their actions, knowing things now that you didn't know then!?"

"I never said they were perfect. They do indeed have their problems, but perhaps overtime, those problems can be overcome before they fall into oblivion."

As he finished talking, a green ball of energy came at him with the speed of a jet. It slammed into him, and sent him flying off of the tower. The Fuhrer apparently had shot him with a kind of energy cannon that Ichigo had never seen before he entered the veil.

Ichigo was hanging onto the end of the tower. It wasn't easy, as mystical winds began to move around the tower. He could hear the Fuhrer walking towards him, as the armor that he wore made a loud clang with each footstep. The two of them caught each other's eyes, and attempted to stare each other down.

"Interesting weapon, isn't it?" asked the Fuhrer, as he lifted up a fearsome looking cylinder. "The Lichenfaust 44**. An energy weapon based off of anti-gravity technology, coupled with the disintegrating capabilities of our particle cannon. Anything near the energy sphere gets pulled along, and when it hits it's target, the target is obliterated from reality. In your case, it simply knocked you off."

The energy beam coming from the satellite tower suddenly intensified, and the debris around the Black Sun began swirling at a faster pace. The Fuhrer turned around, apparently mesmerized by the sight of the spectacle. "Isn't it beautiful?" he asked. "A primal power, touched by those few that had the raw will to manipulate it. It won't be much longer now."

As he was talking, Ichigo stealthily climbed back up to the top of the tower. The Fuhrer was still looking at the Black Sun, and he was still awed by it's eldritch might. Seeing an opportunity to strike, Ichigo crept up towards the Fuhrer's back, intending to stab him straight through the heart. Unfortunately, Ichigo's ambush was foiled when Faust turned around in the blink of an eye, and grasped Ichigo's throat with his right hand. The grip was solid as a steel trap: tight & painful. Ichigo began to flicker back & forth out of consciousness due to his oxygen supply beginning to drain.

All of a sudden, the energy beam intensified again. This time, the lights on the satellite tower were brighter than when they first were. Faust let go of Ichigo, who fell down with a thud. "Nein, Nein!*" the Fuhrer yelled, and ran towards the tower. Ichigo coughed for a moment, then got up from the ground, and saw that the Fuhrer was fiddling with some controls near the top. Getting a smirk on his face, Ichigo spoke.

"Having trouble....my Fuhrer?" Ichigo asked slyly.

"Nein." said the Fuhrer, who seemed to have the situation. "Everything is now under control. Well, where were....."

Before he could finish talking, Ichigo climbed up the tower with his newfound speed power, and punched the Fuhrer in the face. This sparked a furious fight upon the satellite tower, each warrior exchanging deadly blows with the other. The sounds of battle could be heard through the entire Veil, and it was loud enough to attract some of the smaller geist. The fight kept going, and each warrior kept landing blows.

Both of them began to show signs of fatigue, with Ichigo getting a black eye, and a bent nose, while the Fuhrer had taken a blow to the jaw. Despite the pain, both of them decided to keep going at it, until the geist began to congregate around the energy beam. Getting angry once again, the Fuhrer punched Ichigo in the stomach, dropping him in a second. Activating the yellow gem in his medallion, he ran back down onto the tower's top, and grabbed his gun. Getting the geist within his sights, he activated his green gem while the yellow one turned off, and proceeded to blast them into oblivion. One of the energy blasts went into the beam, and the satellite tower began to emit smoke.

"It's seems that you're starting to lose control." Ichigo said slyly. "Maybe you should relax, and take a breath. That always....."

Before he could finish, an energy blast from the Lichenfaust came straight at him, and landed into his chest. He managed to stay in place this time, but looked down to see that severe burns were all over his chest. He touched the burns to see how much damaged was caused, and felt immediate pain. Probably some damaged nerves, Ichigo thought to himself. As he continued to feel his chest, he didn't noticed that the Fuhrer had been walking towards. Ichigo managed to look up, just as a metal fist went into his freshly-burned chest. The immense pain made him drop to his knees, and clutch at the wound.

"The old ways are dying, Mr. Kurosaki!" Faust yelled. "Time cannot stay still, even for someone like me. It is my job to change things; to set the balance so to speak. Since the Soul Society did not change on it's own, myself & the rest of the Reich decided to change things ourselves. The Reich had such hopes for you. It's a shame that the others had blinded you."

"Oh?" asked Ichigo, still in pain from the blow. "Well, perhaps you'll be impressed when I do this!"

In a blinding, yellow flash, Ichigo picked up a shard of rock that appeared after one of the Lichenfaust's energy blasts hit the tower., and pounced upon the Fuhrer. The two warriors were wrestling with each other on the ground; Ichigo trying to shove the shard into the Fuhrer's medallion, while the Fuhrer was trying to get the shard out of Ichigo's hand. It seemed for a moment that the shard was almost out of his hand, until a red glow in Ichigo's eyes appeared. With a forceful show, the shard was driven into the Fuhrer's medallion.

Grasping for air, he tried to pull the shard out, but his wounds that he received make it a difficult task. Ichigo got up from the ground, dusted his legs off, and managed to cover his uniform with was left of his uniform. As he finished, he managed to catch a glimpse of the Fuhrer, who had taken off his glasses. His red eyes were very striking, and his final statement was striking as well.

"Don't worry...I won't be gone for long."

With those final words, the Fuhrer had stopped breathing, and was lifeless on the floor. Just before he could go over and investigate the body, the tower began to shake violently. Seeing as how his time was up, Ichigo began to look for a way back to the entrance. He saw the cave that he came out of earlier, but noticed that a bridge didn't rise up when he was at the tower's edge. Catching a quick breath, Ichigo made perhaps one of the largest leaps he had ever made. He had almost lost his balance when he landed at the lip of the cave, but managed to pull himself up. He turned around to see the satellite fall upon the Fuhrer's corpse, and the top of the tower collapse in upon itself. When the tower stopped collapsing, the cave that Ichigo was in began to shake as well. He then ran back to where he first entered the veil, relying on faint memories of how ne navigated the tunnels. A minute later, he made it back to where the portal was, and saw that it was still open. The cave was shaking more violently than it was a moment ago. He was about to run through the portal, when he stopped and noticed the papers that he saw when he first arrived. Curious, he grabbed them, and stuffed them into his uniform. He then ran through the portal, unsure of what the Soul Society's condition would be.

**Conclusion**

The Soul Society was in shambles. Many of it's grand buildings were now in ruins, but there was still activity. Numerous soul reapers were beginning to rebuild their destroyed homes, wounded members were being taken away by medical staff, and Nazi prisoners of war were being lined up to be taken away to their cells. The war that was waged had inflicted wounds on both sides, so of which would go away over decades. In the rubble of all of this, many of the captains were reflecting on what had recently happened, as well as the new opportunity that was given to them.

Captain Hitsugaya, his subordinate Rangiku, and a couple of others were sitting in a ruined garden, taking looks at the burnt trees, as well as the blue sky, which would occasionally pulse an alien green.

"It seems as if we've finally won." said Rangiku. "We've finally defeated the Nazis, and peace is brought back to the Soul Society."

"Don't forget, we have a golden opportunity in front of all of us." said a familiar voice.

"Captain Mayuri!" shouted Captain Hitsugaya. He stumbled into the garden, clutching a bullet wound in the upper part of the chest, near the heart. He managed to get close to the others, right before he collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. The others ran to aid their fallen comrade, worried about his condition and curious as to where he had been. Captain Retsu kneeled right beside him in an effort to heal him.

"I don't think the bullet went in that deep." said Captain Mayuri. "Hope this doesn't dirty up your uniform."

Captain Retsu put a hand over her friend's mouth. "Stay quiet." she said in her usual gentle voice. "This will take a moment or two, and I don't want to hear you scream. There's been enough screaming as it is lately."

"Alright" he said softly "but I do have one last question?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"Have any of you seen Ichigo Kurosaki?"

All of the captains around him nodded no, but as if in response, a green portal opened up right in front of them, and Ichigo immediately popped out right in front of him. Breathing heavily, the burns on his chest were still causing him pain, but he managed to resist the majority of it. Letting out a mind sigh, Captain Retsu waived a hand for him to come over. He walked right over, until he was beckoned to lay on the ground.

"Where have the two of you been!?" asked Captain Hitsugaya in a loud, impatient voice.

Ichigo & Captain Mayuri took a glance at each other, then Mayuri told the story that he told to Ichigo earlier to everyone present. After 5 minutes later, he had finished, and by then the bullet wound was fully healed. Everyone was in shock after what they had heard, but it was Rangiku who seemed to be the most shocked.

"My goodness!" she said loudly. "Why didn't you tell any of us?"

Captain Mayuri, who by this time was sitting up against a fire-scorched wall, lowered his head in apparent shame. "Because" he said "in perhaps a fit of paranoia, I was afraid that if any of you were interrogated, you would have revealed what I was up to. You can see why I thought this."

Out of nowhere, Captain Retsu's hand came crashing down onto Mayuri's face. A red mark appeared a moment later, and it began to swell. Mayuri rubbed the swelling to ease the pain. "What was that for!?" he yelled.

"That was for being an idiot" said Captain Retsu. A moment later, she got right up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a gentle. "That's for being alive." she said. Confused, Captain Mayuri nether the less accepted what had just happened, and was actually kind of glad to be embraced in such a manner. "There is one other thing." he said.

"What's that?" asked Ichigo.

"The individual that was working with me...I think it's time that you found out who he was."

"We're listening." spoke Hitsugaya.

"Where do I start?" asked Mayuri "Ah, I know! Do any of you remember a certain guard that came and spoke with any of you?"

"Yeah, I remember who you're talking about." said a familiar, female voice.

"Yoruichi & Soi Fon, glad you made back here."

"The same." said Soi Fon, who then took a seat on a bench, right next to Yoruichi.

"Well" said Captain Mayuri "there was more to him that what appeared."

Captain Mayuri went on to describe his mysterious associate. "The man's name was Rudolph Kessler. He was a member of a group called the Kriesaw Circle, and their job was to destabilize the Nazi regime during World War II. During their hibernation period, Kessler managed to sneak into the facility where the Nazis were hiding. He hid in one of the hibernation tubes, and basically went to sleep until the takeover. I found him after he had just take out a soldier, and was putting on the uniform. He told me what he was up to, and I joined him in his mission. All I needed to do was think of a way to take out the Nazis from the inside, and the rest was history. Don't ask how I found out about his past before he told me."

"Impressive plan" said Captain Retsu "but what happened to Kessler?"

"We got found out." Captain Mayuri said. "They came as we were putting away some documents. We both got shot, but I was the only one that survived."

Everyone in the park bowed their heads in silence for their hidden comrade. After the silence, another green flash came across the sky.

"Now that the Nazis are out of the picture" spoke Captain Mayuri "perhaps we can safely use the Black Sun. All we need to do is look at their notes, modify their technology, and take it from there."

"Perhaps we can." said Captain Hitsugaya grimly.

Just then, Orihime, Chad, and Uriu came into the park. They spotted their friend Ichigo, and immediately ran over to embrace their friend. Orihime, as usual, gave Ichigo one of her biggest hugs that she could. Chad & Uriu, on the other hand, gave Ichigo a hand up from the ground, which he promptly accepted. As he stood up, the papers that he took earlier fell out of his robe onto the ground. He promptly kneeled down to pick them up, when it was noticed by everyone present that most of the papers were blank, save for the last one. Ichigo put the blank papers onto the bench, then began to read the one in his hand.

"What does it say?" asked Orihime as she walked towards Ichigo to take a look.

Ichigo began to read. "April 20th, 2010. 12:26 P.M. All has been accomplished in the veil. The tower has been setup, all of the astrological signs are charted, and the proper spells have been cast. All that is needed is the solar pulse, and the merging of the veil and the Soul Society will be complete. Soon, the balance will be restored to all."

"What does he mean by "The balance will be restored to all?" " Uriu asked.

"Not sure." said Ichigo. "Only time will tell as to what he meant."


End file.
